just kept coming. There are times in racing when stuff
just comes easily, and that was one of those times when
it just seemed like it was really easy to be on the podium!

WHEN YOU MOVED UP TO THE 450 CLASS
FULL-TIME IN 2011, WAS IT NATURAL TO STAY
WITH HONDA. Yes. I had a couple times when I filled
in on the CRF450, and even before my last 450 fill-in ride,
they offered me a deal, which was, especially for that
time in the bad economy, a no-brainer for me. I took the
Honda offer, whether there was more opportunity on the
table or not.

“IT SEEMED LIKE ICOULD DO NOTHINGRIGHT. I SERIOUSLYCONTEMPLATEDHANGING IT UP. IT IS NOTLIKE I POP BACK FROMTHESE INJURIES. IT IS ASTRUGGLE. I CERTAINLYCAME OUT OF MY BACKINJURY A DIFFERENTPERSON.”HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR FIRST FULL-TIME SEASON IN THE 450 CLASS IN 2011? It wasa great rookie season. Yes, it ended short with anotherbroken femur near the end of Supercross, but overallit was good. We were outdoor testing just before theSeattle Supercross when I crashed and broke it. Therewere three rounds left in the series, but at that time therewere five of us within 25 points of the championship lead,and it was a great year. I thought it was the best, mostaggressive riding that I have ever done. I won three racesand was on the podium a few times. I was right there,and that was really cool for me as a rookie to be battlingalongside James Stewart, Chad Reed, Ryan Villopotoand Ryan Dungey. I was pumped because of the level ofrespect that they had for me. They were really generousand kind to me. I felt like I was one of them—not onlyjust competing against them, but having their respect.IN 2012 YOU SUFFERED A NEAR-CAREER-ENDING INJURY, RIGHT? Many people see that,but they do not see the months before that, ending mySupercross season early with a broken femur in 2011 andthen coming back in 2011 for the outdoors and re-break-ing it at Washougal. I came back from that and broke mycollarbone in the off-season leading into 2012. I returnedfrom that really quickly and then broke my back. Thatwas just an emotional roller coaster. To have not just asevere injury, but one that was considered a career-endinginjury was tough for me to come back from. It seemedlike I could do nothing right. I seriously contemplatedhanging it up. It is not like I pop back from these injuries.It is a struggle. I certainly came out of my back injury adifferent person.

MANY INJURED RIDERS SAY THAT THE TIME
OFF HEALING WAS A BLESSING IN DISGUISE;
WAS THIS TRUE FOR YOU? That can be true. I ended
up having a lot of time off, and that was when I met
my wife Hannah. I have told her that I would have gone
through all that again if it meant meeting her. Something
good came out of something bad, and I am forever grateful that I got to meet her. That summer was when I got
to meet the person that I want to spend the rest of my
life with.

HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE YOUR 450
CAREER? Difficult. Even on the local level, there are
times when you love it and there are times it is your
worst nightmare. I have heard Ralph Sheheen say on the
TV broadcasts that injuries are the story of Trey Canard.
But, I hope that my career is a story of perseverance—and
a story of success. I have won races. I may not be breaking any records, but winning races is something that not
everyone is fortunate enough to do. I hope that people
don’t look at me as some sort of charity case. I have had
a wonderful career, and it is not over.

WHEN DID YOU REALIZE THAT HONDA WAS
GOING TO GET RID OF YOU? Going into 2016 it really looked like we were going to do a contract extension.
But, I had a big crash at the start of the year when my
bike went into neutral. I went over the bars and really
messed up my groin. I tried to ride through that, but then
my hand got landed on, so it was a crummy start. When
I heard that they were talking to Ken Roczen, they gave
me an option to be a test rider (probably the role that
Andrew Short plays now). But, I wanted to keep racing. I
hope I represented Honda well. I did the best that I possibly could, and I really appreciate all they did for me. I
am happy and grateful for this new venture with Red Bull
KTM. I’m excited to work with guys like Roger DeCoster
and be teammates with Ryan Dungey and Marvin
Musquin.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH IN
2017? I want to win races. As a racer, that is what you
want to do, but more than anything, I want to go race
to my fullest potential. I still believe that I can be on the
podium and be fighting for wins.

ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO ADD? Racing
is a small part of all this. It is easy to get so caught up in
it that you miss the good parts of life. I have had a lot of
chances to see that, and I am really grateful for that. Had
everything gone perfectly for me, maybe I would have
missed that. I think I get it as far as life is concerned. I
sincerely want to do this, because I love to do it. As part
of my faith, I do everything to honor God. I just hope that
my story in some way can help people. I believe that in
some way people can look at my story and find hope,
encouragement and some sort of light there. ❏